Bonjour bonjour đ
Here is a reminder of a few steps we can all take to reduce waste. Of course, there are so many, but if we could all do these ten things then that would be a great start.Â
1/ Say Yes to reusable straws in metal, paper, glass .. As they are easy to forget if you change bags regularly like I do, I make sure I am prepared by putting one straw in each purse. đ
2/ Farewell plastic bags .. Always have a special tote bag in your purse, or big reusable shopping bags (Ikea bags for example) in your car .
3/ Use glass jars or natural and reusable packaging like beeâs wrap as an alternative to aluminum and cellophane wrap to store or carry your food. And also , try to buy your groceries without packaging whenever possible. Itâs not always easy, but it makes a real difference!
4/ Reusable is the new chic.. Use washable sanitary towels, a cup or sanitary panties ⌠Itâs just a case of making a change, then you get used to them really quickly.
- For the washable sanitary towels and panties, I leave them to soak overnight in cold water with a little washing liquid. The next morning, I scrub them, rinse them then toss them in the machine with my other washing at 30 degrees, which works perfectly ! More details here .
- For the cup, you just need to rinse it after using it. The hardest part is putting it in and taking it out â especially at the beginning. I wrote about this here.
5/ Sustainable & organic toothbrush is always a good idea.. as there are far too many plastic toothbrushes in the ocean, along with cotton buds, straws, bottles and more. Also, be sure to use cardboard or biodegradable cotton buds.  Regarding the toothbrush you have a choice between the bambou made (by The bamamdbou ) or the Lamazuna one which allows you to change just the head..
6/ Lets try the Trashtag challenge.. which is an effort to clean up litter and trash on beaches, roadsides, parks an share the before / after picture on Instagram. .. Picking up litter goes viral & trendy on social media.. and this is good ! More infos here . There is also the 5 minute beach cleanup challenge ; spend 5 minutes cleaning up the beach, then share the results on social media and use the hashtag #5minutebeachcleanup. You can involve your family or friends in this action.. I did this yesterday and I thought if everyone could do this, it would make a huge difference.. You can also do this wherever you go.. mountain, woods, nature..
7/ Ocean friendly .. Choose a sunscreen which doesnât harm the coral reef or sea bed. Though for the moment no sunscreen is truly environmentally friendly, these 3 made in France brands are some of the cleanest : Alphanova, Laboratoire Biarritz , EQ and the new Caudalie range ocean protect is also good. Most of the other labels simply surf on the green and ocean friendly wave for their marketing, but their formulas arenât clean at all (I wonât mention any brands but this basically applies to all the big labels ^^)
8/ Turn off the water .. As my mother has been saying since I was a kid, itâs not Christmas! Switch off the lights every time you leave a room. The same goes for the TV, and remember not to leave the water running while brushing your teeth or hands..
9/ Go green .. Plant flowers, trees and greenery in your home. Itâs a great mood booster and good for insects too! đ Youâll find a few ideas here.Â
10 / An eco-conscious beauty routine .. Use ethical, organic, environmentally friendly and cruelty free brands as much as possible and limit or stop the use of chemical cleaning products and insecticides. Instead, opt for natural products, which you can make yourself.
This list is non-exhaustive, and there are just so many things that we can (and should!) do.  Though we might not always want to makes these changes due to a lack of time, motivation or simply because itâs hard to break old habits, if everyone made an effort it would make such a big difference. It also helps to set yourself goals, such as reducing or stopping meat & fish consumption, replacing dairy products, Nutella or in my case Starbucks by more ethical products.. I would also love to make my own cleaning and beauty products, though I havenât tried yet. For cleaning, I guess I just love Mister Clean and the fragrance of industrial softener ⌠but seriously I am building up to it. Iâm going to start with recipes and mixtures for washing liquid and floor cleaner. Iâll write about these asap. As for cosmetics, I receive a lot of products but I am moving as much as possible towards brands which are engaged, cruelty free and ethical, even though itâs not always easy.
VoilĂ â those are my tips. Feel free to share your ideas in the comments! <3
xxxx
Credits : Pic by Peter soubbotnik / Translation : Hanna Ikin
